Song 1: Bon Iver’s, “PDLIF” (2020)
What is initially intriguing about the song PDLIF is the name. For an artist such as the song’s creator, Bon Iver, whose music is respected by so many to title one of their songs as an acronym, one is almost forced to pay closer attention to the words the acronym represents. This is also the key mantra chanted in the chorus: ‘Please Don’t Live In Fear.’
While it may not initially come off as being a real Protest song, it is calling the listener to action. The song does not have many lyrics that accompany the chorus, but among them are lines such as, “”How things can change, so don’t you, but don’t you, don’t you run away!” This goes to support what the line that the song represents is proclaiming! It is so easy to live based in fear because we can see it as being a way of shielding ourselves from the dangers that can hurt us. More often than not, however, fear actually attracts essentially what we are fearing! If nothing else, it attracts more fear if we live in a way that is based in fear, which is ultimately the absence of Love. This song protests living in fear.
Bon Iver – PDLIF – Official Video – YouTube
Song 2: Everlast’s, “What It’s Like” (1998)
Another strong choice for a protest song would be Everlast’s song What It’s Like. This one looks at and uplifts a number of different, often purposefully overlooked, perspectives. The first is described as being, “we’ve all seen a man at the liquor store begging for your change.” The lyric goes on to describe the person begging and the person who is being pleaded to reject them, and goes on to close the lyric by saying, “‘Cause then you really might know what it’s like to sing the blues.” This lyric is followed by the chorus, which goes, “Then you really might know what it’s like (what it’s like)” And is followed by another lyric that describes another judged point of view. The next perspective that’s raised in the song is that of a young pregnant woman who, after being left by the guy who impregnated her, presumably gets an abortion because the lyric goes, “They call her a killer, and they call her a sinner, and they call her a whore,” which is followed by, “God forbid you ever have to walk a mile in her shoes, ‘cause then you really might know what it’s like to have to choose.” The song goes on to look at a number of perspectives that are so often judged by people who are not being empathetic and really imagining what it might be like in the different peoples’ shoes. When looking at specific social movements the song and at least some of the lyrics I uplifted are championing, you can see it clearly being Pro-Choice, or more specifically, championing, or protesting for the United States abortion rights movement.
Everlast – What it’s Like (Official Music Video) – YouTube
September 16, 2023 at 11:22 am
Julia,
These are two interesting choices, but I’m not really sure either will work for our project. The Bon Iver song is very good, but it is also rather sparse in terms of the lyrics. The Everlast song, in contrast, seems lack the kind of consistent subject that works well in these projects. That is, each verse is on a different subject and while there is consistency in the message, the disparate subjects will make it hard to find a unified focus for the project.
Before I make a final decision, can you please reply to this post two additional songs you’d like to consider? Just a few sentences about each is fine. Please do so by the end of the day Monday and I will let you know.
Thanks,
Bill
September 19, 2023 at 4:55 pm
Twenty One Pilots’ “Never Take It” (2021)
This song is a direct challenging of the media and (personal) information becoming increasingly easier to access. There are a few quotes in the song that are at the forefront of a protest, such as, “”Now that they know information is just currency and nothing more, keep the truth in quotations.” Another line that is an outcry and also speaking in protest about the media is one that comes shortly after, which proclaims, “They’re trying hard to weaponize, you and I, we’ll never take it.” The “We’ll never take it” mantra is one that fits a protest song for a number of different causes but suits this one well in protest of how we have now been in a way conditioned to think and act a certain way because of the media/social media. The song is protesting this, as well as the invasion of one’s personal information and privacy that the media/ social media seems to be consistently getting away with.
Gang of Youths’ “Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane” (2017)
This song is maybe not as clearly protesting for or against a specific cause, but it is still one that is just as worthy, which is proclaimed in the title and chorus, “Do not let your spirit wane.” This is accompanied by lyrics that support this outcry, such as, “Do not let this thing you got go to waste, do not let your heart be dismayed, it’s here by some random disclosure of grace.” It is easy for many of us to let our spirits wane because it becomes jaded and, as the group protests in the chorus (accompanying ‘Do not let your spirit wane’), “Do not let this thing you got go to wate, do not let your heart be dismayed.” It is too easy for us to go about our lives forgetting the importance of keeping an open mind and spirit in the midst of a life that can so quickly make one become closed-minded and jaded. The song is not simply suggesting to the listener to be aware and not become jaded, but exclaiming and calling for all who hear it, “Do not let your spirit wane!”
September 22, 2023 at 5:57 am
Julia,
Of these, Twenty One Pilots’ “Never Take It” is the one to go with, which seems to really be about he spread of misinformation as much as it is about the easy access to information. Perhaps it is the easy access to misinformation. But that and the condemnation of certain politicians and certain media (and maybe social media) will afford you ample opportunity to for discussion.
Looking forward to what you create!
Bill